A Tea Engagement
by Cassandra Elise
Summary: Steed Requires a King's Help. Keel Lets His Wound Heal. This is just a short story about Dr. Keel and his nurse Carol Wilson. I hope you enjoy.
1. Default Chapter

This story is dedicated to my faithful readers and/or fellow fanfiction writers. I would like to particularly acknowledge Verena Gruen, Alexis Rockford, Search for the leprechaun, and Esteed. Your support over the last several months is incredible! Thank you so much for encouraging me to write. May God Bless You!  
  
The AVENGERS  
  
Dr. David Keel escorted a feeble woman to the door of his surgery. "Bear in mind, Mrs. Nesbitt, that you can't over-exert yourself in your condition. The next time your dog gets loose, kindly ask one of your neighbours to find her."  
  
"But Sally won't respond to anyone but me," the elderly woman protested. After receiving a critical gaze from her physician, she conceded. "Well, she is rather fond of Jamie, my postman."  
  
"There, you see? You have absolutely nothing to worry about, not even your health. Just remember to take your vitamins like the good woman that you are." With that last command, the doctor kindly ushered Mrs. Nesbitt out the door and locked it behind her. Another long business day had come to its close.  
  
Carol Wilson, his nurse and personal secretary, entered the room with file full of papers. "Did you prescribe new heart medicine for Mrs. Nesbitt?"  
  
"No, just the same vitamins and prescription as before." Keel rubbed his temples as he tried to ignore the pain that was spreading across his head.  
  
"Do you need any aspirin, Dr. Keel?" Miss Wilson enquired with relative concern.  
  
"No, no, I'm fine, just fine," he murmured more to assure himself than her.   
  
"If that is all, then I will just be on my way home." Carol placed the Mrs. Nesbitt's file in the correct cabinet and grabbed her tweed coat from her chair.  
  
Keel, not wanting to be alone another night, asked, "Um-would you like to stop by at my flat for a while and enjoy a cup of tea?"  
  
Carol was taken aback by this question. It wasn't that she did not trust her employer and associate in crime fighting, but she wasn't accustomed to his inviting her into his flat without having something more devious in mind. "Steed hasn't gotten you involved in another case, has he?"  
  
"You know Steed and my relationship is purely friendly from now on. I made it quite clear several weeks ago when I was staying at that resort that I would not assist him any more."  
  
"You selfish man, you," Carol teased as she stuffed a wisp of her hair back into her bun.  
  
"Well, do you think you could share a few minutes with a lonely man?"  
  
"I'll only come if you promise to help me make the tea. Last time I was stuck with the job, while you worked with Steed."  
  
"Things are going to be different without John Steed biting at our heels." David smiled briefly before he escorted the young, petite woman out the door.  
A Tea Engagement  
  
Steed Requires A King's Help  
Keel Lets His Wound Heal  
John Steed, agent extraordinaire, hurried down the congested sidewalks of London. He was in the middle of a strenuous case involving a kidnapped diplomat. He knew David Keel had sworn never to spy again, but he needed somebody's assistance. And so far Dr. Keel was his only option., because no one else even knew he was an agent. Steed never let just anybody know his secret life; he had to decide if they were intelligent and brave enough to help him with a job.  
Steed turned down a side street that would take him to one of the neighbourhoods. Keel lived in a modest and clean apartment complex. Steed wished he could take a cab but he was short on money at the moment due to the fact he had just bought an entire new wardrobe. He sighed as he trudged down the path  
  
***********  
  
Miss Wilson ended up preparing the tea by herself once again, but this time Keel was not busy discussing spy techniques in the living room with Steed. Instead, after being fiercely chided by Carol for having an untidy kitchen, he set about cleaning up. Carol was not certain, but she thought she felt a wet towel playfully hitting her back every time Keel walked past.   
  
After the kitchen was as tidy as it could be under the short notice, Keel was shoved out of the room. Carol arranged blueberry scones, orange crumpets, and sugar biscuits on porcelain platter. Then she salvaged some bread from a slightly moldy loaf to make half sandwiches of turkey and lettuce-Keel's favourite tea food. Smiling mischievously, she placed the sandwiches on a separate plate and left them on the counter. She entered the living area with the platter of pastries and tea.  
  
Dr. Keel's face fell as he surveyed the repast. "Where are the turkey and lettuce sandwiches?"  
  
Carol feigned a look of indifference and surprise as she replied, "Is that what you wanted to eat?"  
  
"Yes, these sweets are absolutely appalling, so much sugar!"  
  
As Keel droned on, Miss Wilson slipped back into the kitchen unobserved. She reentered with the sandwiches behind her back, asking, "You said you liked ham and cheese?"  
  
"Carol, after all these years of working together-" David began.  
  
"Yes, the two years," his nurse interrupted teasingly.  
  
"-I would think you'd know my personality and idiosyncrasies. Is it so much to ask for you to remember my fondness for turkey and lettuce sandwiches?" Keel wasn't one to go into a tirade over something as inconsequential as food, but he had thought Miss Carol would understand him as well as he understood her. It hurt him to think she still was the wary nurse who diligently assisted him through his crime fighting but was not really enjoying the ride-that she still thought of him only as an employer.  
  
He was about to remark on his disappointment when he noticed Carol holding something behind her. "What are you hiding from me, little Miss Wilson?"  
  
Carol's dark eyes gleamed impishly as she displayed the platter of sandwiches to her boss-and friend.   
  
"If I catch you misbehaving like that again, you might just find yourself unemployed," Dr. Keel warned her in jest.  
  
"You needed something to lift your spirits, doctor." She removed her shoulder length brunette hair from its bun and settled down next to David on the sofa.  
  
"Well, my headache is nearly gone. Whether it's due to a certain trickster, or just out of my own stubborn will is an enigma." Keel smiled broadly as Carol let out a jolly giggle. He reached for a teacup, relishing her mirth and beauty, all bitter thoughts of his murdered fiancée leaving his mind.  
  
Meanwhile, Steed had reached his friend's apartment complex and lethargically climbed the stairs to his flat. He huffed on the first landing, leaning on the wall to regain his breath. After several minutes of rest, he continued his trek ever upward. Soon he reached David Keel's apartment, and was about to barge in when he heard a high feminine voice speaking.   
  
The voice must belong to Carol Wilson, for Keel would never consort with any other woman. But then Steed recalled that Keel had stopped mourning for Peggy, so maybe if he entered without warning, Steed would be interrupting something personal. The secret agent decided to eavesdrop on the conversation to determine if it was private. This was an incongruous thought, but John Steed was known for such paradoxes.  
  
Miss Wilson deftly poured the tea for Dr. Keel against all his protestations. "I'm the host, and here you've been the one slaving away!" said David.  
  
"Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to work for you, sir."  
  
"Are you just saying that to be polite?"  
  
"No, I'm telling you that in hopes that you will give me a raise."  
  
The absurdity of the idea caused the usually somber doctor to burst out loud with uproarious laughter. Once he had composed himself, he asked, "Well, I'm rather short on money, but would you accept dinner as payment?"  
  
"It depends on the restaurant, my mood and appetite," Carol began. "You see, if it is an expensive restaurant and I am feeling giddy and am starving, I will gladly except the offer, because I know I'll order more than I need to eat. That way I have an extra meal for lunch the next day."  
  
"Carol, you have the intellect of a trained physician; in other words, you're a genius."  
  
"In other words, you're complimenting yourself."  
  
Steed stared at the door, not believing what he heard. Keel was joking whole-heartedly with his assistant, something he never did with Steed! The spy felt a twinge of jealousy, but it passed as he realised this sort of relationship with a woman was exactly what Keel needed to totally mend his broken heart.  
  
John Steed simpered, knowing full well that David Keel had finally learned to love again. With a sigh of self-pity, he turned to leave. As he had assumed, it was time to find a new partner. Perhaps he could ask his own fiancée, Emma Knight, to help him, but he remembered she was involved in a complicated business transaction. It was best to wait for her to aid him after she was less occupied.  
  
It suddenly occurred to him that he might ask another doctor to lend a hand. Carol Wilson had mentioned a Dr. King who had a patient convinced that the end of the world was near. Steed stepped onto the sidewalk outside once more. It was time to require a King's help.  
  
After chuckling for several seconds, Keel grew serious. He had found a new soul mate in the form of his kind and gentle nurse. She had been with him through the entire tragedy of his fiancée's death and through his obsession of vengeance, never complaining, but helping. As he continued to mull over this new situation, the cheerful mood of the last ten minutes was replaced with unexpected gravity.   
  
Carol wished to break the uncomfortable silence but didn't know how. Finally, she asked lamely, "Do you want sugar in your tea?" She knew that Keel preferred his earl grey strong and sugarless. To her astonishment, he answered yes. Shrugging, she lifted the bowl full of sugar cubes and grabbed a pair of silver tongs from the table.  
  
David Keel bit his lip in an attempt to remain calm, but in seconds, the words he longed to hold back spilled from his mouth. "Carol, I think I'm in love with you!"  
  
"That's very interesting. One lump or two?" Miss Wilson poised the sugar bowl over his cup of tea, not comprehending his statement. Abruptly, Keel's declaration registered in her brain, and, with a gasp, she dumped the entire bowl into his tea. Little white blocks stacked high in his cup, forming a lopsided pyramid.  
  
Carol tried to collect the dry pieces of sugar to place back into the bowl, but her fingers trembled considerably. She folded her hands before setting them on her lap. "What-what did you say, Dr. Keel?  
  
David Keel exhaled slowly, longing for his words to be unsaid, but they weren't. It was only respectable to answer the lady's question, though, which is what he did. "I said that I loved you."  
  
"What about your late fiancée . . . what do you feel about her?" Was it his imagination, or did she look eager?  
  
Keel answered unflinchingly, "I still love her, but I love you as well." After he spoke, he realised what an insult his reply was.   
  
The glimmer of hope in Carol's eyes was utterly crushed at his response. She quivered as she rose to her feet and said, "I don't want to go into a relationship knowing that I will never completely occupy your heart; that someone else is in that special place with me. I don't want to be compared to Peggy for the rest of my life!"  
  
"You and Peggy are two entirely different people, and you know it! Why would I compare you to her when for the last two years I've been wondering why Peggy wasn't more like you?"  
  
Carol toyed with her silver necklace, unconvinced but wanting to believe him. Her brown trusses brushed her tight and trim navy blue dress suit. "You claim you hold me in higher esteem than Peggy, yet you won't let go of her."  
  
"I have let go; I don't need her any more."  
  
"Then why do you still love her? Why can't you just love me?" Carol glanced at the floor as she added, "I know I sound selfish, but I can't help it." She gazed at him with wistful eyes before continuing, "I love you, Dr. Keel, but I don't want to share your love with another woman."  
  
"Well, what if we got married and had children? Would you mind if I shared my love with them?"  
  
"No, because that would be a different kind of relationship, whereas with Peggy, you feel the same way about her as you do about me."  
  
Keel spoke softly, "My love for Peggy is not as strong as it used to be. I still love her, but now more as a friend than as a romantic interest." He paused before adding, "We doctors try our best to keep our patients healthy and alive, but that's not always possible. Sometimes people we have great respect for, or even those related to us, die no matter what we do. As doctors and as their friends, we can mourn their loss and still admire them. But what would be the point of dwelling on the dead when there are so many people alive who need our medical aid?   
  
"I still have deep admiration for Peggy, but there is a woman here and now who needs me: you." David took Carol's small hands in his own and gazed lovingly at her. "Maybe in time my admiration for Peggy will fade into respect, and then that respect will just fade into fond memories. Right now the wound in my heart is still acute, but I believe it's beginning to mend. And as I heal, I would like to have you beside me to love me and care for me, as I will try to do for you."  
  
"I will do whatever you command of me, Dr. Keel," Carol whispered earnestly.  
  
"I don't command you; I ask you-entreat you." Keel kissed Carol Wilson as delicately as if she was a rose whose petals might fall off if touched too harshly.   
  
Their kiss was not as passionate as what he had seen in the movies, nor was it as fiery and ardent as John Steed and Emma Knight's, but to Keel it was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced. As their lips embraced innocently, Keel decided he wouldn't trade his one Carol for a dozen Emmas. Miss Wilson, not having any one to compare David Keel with, just broke from the kiss to stare rapturously at his face.  
  
As Keel held her in his arms, he gently ordered, "Now you must stop calling me 'Doctor Keel' and 'sir,' all the time. From now on call me, 'David.'"  
  
Trying to suppress a puckish grin, Carol replied, "As you wish . . . doctor."  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the recent novel "Too Many Targets" by John Peel, David Keel becomes romantically involved with Catherine Gale. I don't see how this relationship could possibly work, thus I did not match the two up. In my opinion, Martin King and Cathy Gale were better suited for each other, and David Keel and Carol Wilson made a cute couple. And that's that. :) 


	2. Another Note

If you're interested in what Carol Wilson looks like, I have a few addresses for you on my author lookup page.   
  
Have Fun! 


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